Meet Bishop Eaton

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton was elected as the ELCA’s fourth presiding bishop at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Born in Cleveland on April 2, 1955, Eaton earned a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School...

Luther and Lutheranism

Martin Luther was eight years old when Christopher Columbus set sail from Europe and landed in the Western Hemisphere. Luther was a young monk and priest when Michaelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel in Rome...

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Assignment Process

Assignment completes candidacy for all people, including those ordained in another Lutheran church or Christian tradition, moving them toward first call and admittance to the appropriate roster in the ELCA...

"I recognize the good cooperation" - The LWF malaria program in Burundi

Jessica Nipp Hacker

"Malaria takes a big toll on health," says Mr. Njiji Desiree, who is governor of the Cankuzo province in Burundi, East Africa.

Photo: The Cankuzo Province lies in the Northeast of the country of Burundi.

The Cankuzo province is divided into five "communes," or sub-provinces.

"Malaria is especially a problem in Mishiha and Cendajuru communes," Governor Desiree explains. "These are lowlands, a place where mosquitoes multiply. They are two communes lagging far behind in development. They want to do their own development, but malaria is hampering their efforts."

Photo: The Cankuzo Province is divided into 5 "communes;" the Lutheran malaria program in Burundi is active in two of them.

That's why Governor Desiree is happy to collaborate with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and its malaria program in Burundi, which is supported by your gifts to the ELCA Malaria Campaign. The LWF malaria program focuses its efforts in the Mishiha and Cendajuru communes. The two communes have been chosen because they have multiple vulnerabilities: they are very isolated, are among the least developed areas in the country, there are few other non-governmental organizations operating in the region, and these areas received the most repatriating refugees from Tanzania after the end of Burundi's civil war several years ago.

The LWF malaria program prioritizes its collaboration with the local government and the national malaria program in Burundi.

Photo: Governor Njiji Desiree of the Cankuzo province in Burundi is grateful for good collaboration with the Lutheran malaria program in Burundi.

"I recognize the good cooperation with Lutheran World Federation, and appreciate the activities of LWF. LWF is very valuable in this community. They bring more sensitization sessions. For example, [before the LWF program] mosquito nets were being misused, for fishing, or for protecting crops or rice," says Governor Desiree.

Each year, LWF organizes a joint visit, inviting province officials to visit the Lutheran malaria program in Cankuzo. "That gives us an opportunity to exchange," says Governor Desiree. He affirms, "there is good work happening. LWF intervention will help the government reach more people, more effectively, with the malaria program. We would even like LWF to expand to the other communes in Cankuzo!"

Governor Desiree would like to express his thanks also to the members of the ELCA who support the LWF malaria program through their gifts to the ELCA Malaria Campaign (that's YOU!). "I hope you continue supporting LWF to work against malaria," he encourages.

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